Gus Atkinson of England is participating in his fourth Championship match of the season for Surrey.
Rothesay County Championship Division One, Kia Oval (day one)
Nottinghamshire 231: Slater 50; Fisher 5-61, Atkinson 4-41
Surrey 43-1: Burns 19*, Sibley 14; Pennington 1-9
Surrey 3 pts, Notts 0 pts
Matt Fisher and Gus Atkinson spearheaded a dominant bowling performance from Surrey, as Nottinghamshire faced difficulties in the top-of-the-table County Championship clash at the Kia Oval.
Fisher concluded with figures of 5-61, marking his first five-wicket haul for Surrey since his transfer from Yorkshire last winter, while Atkinson claimed 4-41. Nottinghamshire, who entered the match trailing the home side by a single point in a thrilling title race, were bowled out for 231 on the opening day of a contest that could prove decisive in the championship.
In response, Surrey reached 43-1 in their 16 overs before the close of play. Rory Burns remained unbeaten on 19, while Dom Sibley was caught behind for 14 in the penultimate over, attempting to withdraw his bat from a short delivery by Dillon Pennington.
County Championship day one – Surrey on top against Notts, radio & text
Day one abandoned in six County Championship games
Get cricket news sent straight to your phone
Earlier, Burns won the toss and elected to bowl first on a surface with a green tinge.
The visitors battled to construct a competitive total, but with Atkinson proving particularly challenging in the conditions, Surrey, in pursuit of their fourth consecutive title, emerged as the happier side after the initial exchanges.
Haseeb Hameed, the Nottinghamshire captain, was dropped at first slip on seven, but Atkinson, the unfortunate bowler, found success a few overs later when Hameed edged again on nine, and Ollie Pope secured a fine low catch to his left at second slip.
Subsequently, the most accomplished batting of the day from Nottinghamshire followed, with left-handers Ben Slater and Freddie McCann displaying skill and composure to progress to lunch at 75-1 and, subsequently, extend their second-wicket partnership to 64 across 24 overs of diligent effort.
However, Fisher’s second spell brought about McCann’s dismissal for 34, followed by Slater’s four overs later for an impressive 50 off 95 deliveries.
Thin edges through to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes accounted for both batsmen, with Fisher reaping the rewards for some probing fast-medium bowling that offered the batsmen limited opportunities to score.
Atkinson was reintroduced for his second spell, once again from the Pavilion End, and with his fifth delivery, he trapped Jack Haynes leg-before for 13, leaving Nottinghamshire in a precarious position at 132-4.
Joe Clarke, whose 29 included some of the day’s most authoritative strokes, edged Atkinson to Foakes.
Following an early tea break due to the afternoon’s second brief rain shower, Atkinson further exacerbated Nottinghamshire’s decline.
Lyndon James, who endured a torrid 17 against Atkinson, chipped to mid-wicket, and Dan Worrall finally made his mark by having Liam Patterson-White caught behind for eight off the final ball of his 16th over.
Nottinghamshire’s 174-7 soon became 187-8 when Fisher replaced Atkinson, who had claimed 3-19 in nine overs either side of tea.
South Africa wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne was dismissed leg-before for 13, attempting to play towards mid-wicket, and Fisher persisted to add the wickets of Josh Tongue and last man Pennington.
Tongue offered Foakes his fifth catch of the innings attempting a drive, and Pennington’s useful 14 was ended by an inswinger into his pads after he and Hutton, who pulled Fisher for six in a defiant 30 not out, had contributed 28 for the 10th wicket.
ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay
Comments can not be loaded
To load Comments you need to enable JavaScript in your browser